sibling rivalry

So yesterday in Lit Chat, we were discussing Ugly Duckling stories. I confessed that I was very much an U.D. as a child and had photo proof.

I don’t know what possessed me to try this modified Princess Leia hairdo on picture day (the pin in the coils hurt, so I went with them down), but I got ridiculed for it. It’s something I’ve never forgotten, but even though people called me “Dog Ears,” I wasn’t particularly scarred by it.

Until now.

I broke out the 1980s era yearbook to scan the picture for LitChat. And found this.

Immediately I turned to the back of the yearbook, searching for anyone who signed in pencil. Only one. Hank P, my very first boyfriend. He had encircled his message, “To the greatest girlfriend I’ve ever had,” with pencil hearts. (Of course, I was the only girlfriend he’d ever had.)